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Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Probe confirms lightning on Venus

The idea of lightning adds a spark to Venus’ weather

1978 NASA probe showed electrical activity in its atmosphere
It is cloud-to-cloud and about 56 km above the surface

WASHINGTON: Planet Venus is looking a bit more earth-like with frequent bursts of lightning confirmed by a new European space probe.

For nearly three decades astronomers have said Venus probably had lightning — ever since a 1978 NASA probe showed signs of electrical activity in its atmosphere. But experts were not sure because of signal interference. Now a magnetic antenna on the European Space Agency’s Venus Express probe proved the lightning was real.

Characteristics

The lightning on Venus is cloud-to-cloud and about 56 km above the surface, said University of California, Los Angeles geophysics Professor C.T. Russell, the lead author of a paper on the Venusian fireworks. It is being published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.

Bursts of electrical energy from lightning are something that scientists have long theorised could provide the spark of life in primordial ooze. But not on Venus. “If life was ever something serious to talk about on Venus, it would be early in its history, not in its current state,” said Sean Solomon, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, who was not part of the research team. “It’s a very unforgiving atmosphere.”

Idea that fascinates

The idea of earth-like lightning is fascinating, Professor Russell said. However, you could not see it from Venus’ surface, nor would you want to look because the Venusian atmosphere is 100 times more dense than the earth’s, is about 900 degrees hotter and has clouds of sulphuric acid, he said. “It may be earth’s ‘evil twin,’ but it is in many respects earth’s twin,” he said.

Coolness factor

What excites astronomers most about the lightning discovery is simply the coolness factor. Venus’ weather forecasts have long thought to be “kind of boring... steady winds for the next 400 years,” said Allan Treiman, a senior scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, who is not affiliated with the research.

The idea of lightning, he said, adds a spark to Venus’ weather.

On the Net, Nature is at http://www.nature.com — AP

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